I finished An Orchestra of Minorities a few days ago and it's taken me that long to decide how I feel about it. The main character, Chinonso, is a Nigerian poultry farmer who declares that he will do anything to be able to marry the woman he loves. The book takes the reader along on his journey to fulfill this and overall, it's about the sacrifices we're willing to make for love.

The author incorporated a lot of Igbo cosmology/mythology and some untranslated Igbo language. I thought that the inclusion of the language and folklore, and the choice to have the chi (the "guardian spirit") narrate the story were the most unique and brilliant aspects of the book.

Chinonso goes through some hard times and it's strikingly painful to read. I was completely invested and engulfed in this story. It was definitely the heart-wrenching story the synopsis claimed it would be, but the pacing doesn't do it any favors. The book drags and dwells in unnecessary places and details but either skips or rushes through parts that would've been more interesting to know and follow. Some of the most pivotal, dramatic parts of the story felt more like a "well, by the way, this happened" while the reader gets half a chapter of the chi's musings that we didn't need. We’re not exactly dealt with consistently beautiful writing either—it’s pretty clunky and rudimentary at times, emotional and confident at others.

I've never read a book quite like this before and honestly, my appreciation for this book is mostly due to the uncommon way it was written and narrated. It's an odd, riveting, haunting story. My heart was racing at the end.

A fantastic title! However, I did not fall in love.
In this novel, we learn that Chinonso, a poultry farmer, has done a bad thing, His guardian spirit, his "chi" tells us this , but does not reveal what it is. The chi is interfering with the Igbo deity on Nonso’s behalf, as he narrates the story.

The Chi narrates that Chinonso meets the wealthy Ndali by saving her life. They fall in love but her parents refuse the relationship. It's a love story and a tragedy as Nonso does whatever he can to become educated, worldly and wealthy and ultimately worthy of Ndali.

I didn't necessarily enjoy the tale. It was a bit slow for my taste but those who seek first person narration and stories based in Africa (Nigeria) will enjoy it.

Chinonso has grown up poor and finds himself devastated first at the loss of his sister to an older man, then by the death of their father. He finds himself listless and searching for connection, but is looking in all the wrong places. That is until a chance encounter in the night with a woman trying to end her life. Chinonso saves her and ends up falling in love her. For a while he is contented. With Ndali and his poultry farm where he cares for chickens, he wants nothing more than for it to last forever. But when he learns that Ndali comes from a wealthy, educated family that he could never measure up to, Chinonso's desire to prove that he is good enough for Ndali's love will be his undoing. To what depths will the Chinonso fall? Will he ever be able to find his way out?
Chigozie Obioma has crafted a novel from a whole new perspective, from the point of view of the main character's chi. Telling a story from the angle of the chi gives reader a new window into a story and a look into Igbo culture. I enjoyed learning about tradition and culture. I liked the comparison to the Odyssey made by Chinonso. Unfortunately, I was not engrossed by this particular story, though I look forward to reading future books by Obioma.

This novel gives the reader an opportunity to explore another culture Igbo/Nigerian which is so important in this Western world, full of reads that often include characters and cultures that are just a bit too familiar to our daily lives.

An Orchestra of Minorities is a twist on Homer's Odyssey that spans the heavens and Earth narrated by a spirit which tells the story of Chinonso, a young poultry farmer whose soul is spurred into action when he sees Ndali attempting to jump from a bridge. He is so horrified by her decision that he throws two of his prized chickens over the bridge to demonstrate the impact of such a fall, which stops her in her tracks. They eventually fall in love, but Ndali is from a wealthy family, and Chinonso is a farmer. When her family objects to the match, Chinonso sells all of his possessions to attend college in Cyprus. When he arrives, he realizes that he was deceived and that there is no place for him at the school. Devastated, Chinonso grapples with being far away from home, Ndali, and everything that he knows.

Obioma captures readers through an ominsent narrator, and a compelling, often heart wrenching tale. High praise for this reimaged tale from the African perspective. I will note that at times the dense, literary allegory can be difficult to trudge through, but it is completely worth the journey.

As with his previous Booker shortlisted novel, The Fishermen, I can't really say I 'enjoyed' this, since like its predecessor, it is almost unrelentingly depressing, and (with the possible exception of Les Misérables), I just don't LIKE books in which the protagonist is continuously hounded by horrible injustices. And although again there are some striking passages and some interesting cosmology about the Igbo religion, there is also a preponderance of vivid descriptions of bodily fluids and excretions that I could have done without.

But my main problem with the book is that it is just very slow going for the most part, and a judicious editor could have excised a good 100-150 pages, and made it a much better reading experience - too often superfluous details impeded the forward momentum of the main story. And when the narrative doesn't get bogged down in the irritatingly untranslated passages of African dialect and the minutia of the religion, the story itself is both somewhat predictable and not terribly interesting. The blurb stating it is a modern twist on Homer also is a bit of a misnomer, in that only the final quarter really has much to do with the Odysseus/Penelope story, leading me to expect something entirely different.

That all said, I think it was worth reading in the long run, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it make the Booker shortlist also. There are some notable passages and images, even if some metaphors are hammered home a bit much.

My sincere thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown and Company for the eBook ARC in exchange for this honest review.

A wonderful tale that captures the uniqueness of Nigerian literature. If anything, it makes readers want to explore more work not just by Obioma but other authors of Nigeria. The novel itself has an elegance and poetic cadence to it making it casually stunning--it sticks with you well after reading

A rich, complex tale about love, sacrifice and misfortune. And while there's a lot to enjoy about the book, especially the characters, I felt that it started to get bogged down by the world the author was trying to create. To the point that what could have been well realized characters were not being engaged as such. The book is narrated by the guardian spirit of the main character and the ominscent voice of the story might have been an issue. But the pacing didn't work and the book dragged a lot.

I adored Obioma's first novel, so much, but I had to DNF this. I was so tired of the narrator philosophizing about Chinonso's circumstances, rather than just telling the story. I understand that that was the point - his chi was attempting to save him from damnation by explaining the situation that led to why he deserved to basically go to hell. But nearly every paragraph started with an invocation of a different deities and explaining "ah yes this is part of the condition of man that he feels this way blah blah" before getting to what was actually going on. It felt as if the reader was being told how they should feel about what happened, rather than being allowed to experience that for themselves.

The heart behind this story is incredible, and if you can make it through the long length, the payoff is worth it. It was absolutely wonderful to learn more extensively about the Igbo culture and Obioma's writing is magical.

I started this so slowly, reading in fits and starts, but once I settled down with the story I really enjoyed it. Chinonso is a good man making some tough decisions; the story is told from the perspective of his chi. Creative and wonderful. I really like Obioma's books.

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An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma is a fictional book following a poultry farmer who is trying to better himself so he could marry a woman he loves. Mr. Obioma is a Nigerian author, whose first book, The Fisherman, was short listed for the Book Prize in 2015.

Chinonso is a poultry farmer living in Nigeria, when his stops the suicide attempt of Ndali, an upper class, educated woman from a rich family. Even though the two want to get married, Ndali’s family opposes it.

Chinonso sells everything he owns, including his beloved chickens for a chance to go to school in Turkey, educate himself, and prove to Ndali’s family he is worthy of her. Arriving in Turkey, Chinonso discovers he had been scammed by a childhood friend.
And then the story starts to go downhill.

An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma is a very poetic book, but very challenging to read. The narrator of the book is the protagonist’s guardian spirit (chi), in what is basically a testimony on behalf of his host for a crime that he committed, may have committed, or committed in error.

If you read the first chapter carefully, or simply don’t skim it, you should be fine and understand who the spirits are, and the honorifics of the spirits world. The chi is trying to plead his case before Chukwo, the supreme Igbo god, we don’t know yet what Chinonso did, but we read how his life slowly unravels.

The characters in the book switch between Igbo (untranslated), Pidgin (Nigerian language), and English (“language of the white man”). Frankly I didn’t mind the switches (few as they were), since they made sense and made the book more real for me. I also found it amusing that a Nigerian author is writing about a Nigerian man being taken advantage of by Nigerian scammers, admitting out loud that it’s not only “white men” that are being targeted, but everyone with a few bucks in their pockets.

This is a dark book, the chi’s narration does add warmth to this tragic story, but the reader sees the darkness coming, and it’s almost disturbing that the chi didn’t see it in real time. I thought this book was worthwhile and compelling, a book which opens the door between two worlds but doesn’t answer if it’s a good thing.

Sacrifices we make for love, is what sums up Chigozie Obioma, An Orchestra of Minorities. Chicken farmer Chinonso meets pharmacist-in-training Ndali Obialor in a near-tragedy as Chinonso prevents Ndali Obialor from jumping off a bridge. Meeting again months later Chinonso & Ndali Obialor being a troubled romance. Now Chinonso & Ndali Obialor are evenly yoked; Nadali comes from well-educated family while Chononso is a simple farmer. Desperate to be excepted by Nadali’s family and to marry her Chinonso travels to Cyprus to receive more schooling, so her can return to Ndali as well-educated man and marry her.

In his attempt to better himself Chinonso gets cheated out of everything he owns and loves. I remember reading Homer’s Odyssey in high school and this is the vibe Obioma gives in this story. Told by the Chinonso’s chi, an inner spirit, he gives a uniquely African element to the story. The chi enlightens you on what is happening in the present as well as what has happened in the past when it occupied other bodies. I really enjoyed the ride Obioma puts the reader one.

AN ORCHESTRA OF MINORITIES is not for everyone, but fans of literary fiction should definitely enjoy its beautiful prose and stunning imagery. Some of the imagery will truly stay with me for a long time. One thing you should know right away is that the "narrator" is the spirit/soul of the main character so that lends an unusual feeling to the story, which may turn some readers off. However, I thought Obioma handled it well and I appreciated the different approach. I felt bad for the man character's plight and overall sympathized with him. The cosmology aspects lend a fascinating layer of complexity to the story.

Nigerian poultry farmer Chinonso risks his livelihood and undertakes an imprudent journey in a bid to impress the family of the woman he loves in An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma.

Young Chinonso’s life heads in a new and seemingly wonderful direction after a chance encounter one night with Ndali, an educated young woman from an influential family. Chinonso and Ndali quickly fall in love, but he believes he must return to school in order to become her social equal. After selling everything he owns to go to college in Cyprus, Chinonso immediately falls prey to a con-man and everything he had planned comes undone.

Narrated by Chinonso’s chi, or guardian spirit, An Orchestra of Minorities (digital galley, Little, Brown and Company) is an ambitious and spiritual tale that traces Chinonso’s journey from elation to bitterness and finally something close to surrender as he undertakes the long journey to return to Nigeria and Ndali.

I thought this book was a little problematic in terms of its treatment of women. Overall I didn't enjoy it as much as The Fishermen. I've seen other reviews referring to this as a love story but, honestly, I just didn't get that vibe. I can't excuse the actions of this main character.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc. This was a book written on many levels. There is a simple story of love and love lost. There is the story of Nigeria, a country of conflict and possibilities. The narrator, the chi, the spirit, the conscience of the main character, puts his own spin on the story.

I liked many parts of this novel. The title, when the meaning is disclosed, pulls the whole book together. I guess the one thing that was missing for me was a stronger voice for Ndali. She is bright, courageous... and then nothing... her tale is not told.

Uniquely told from the perspective of a man's guardian spirit, An Orchestra of Minorities is a tale of a man's undoing and a plea for compassion. The story slowly builds to a man's ultimate act of desperation after losing all he's ever worked for. At times, the story moved too slowly for my taste, but the fact that it is drenched in Igbo cosmology kept me tuned in as I was introduced to another culture while simultaneously reading about what is universal: the quest to love.

This wasn’t for me. It’s probably my last attempt with this author. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.